Good governance, national unity and social development in Nigeria. A case study of Jos south LGA plateau state

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GOOD GOVERNANCE- NATIONAL UNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA. A CASE STUDY OF JOS SOUTH LGA PLATEAU STATE

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 

  • BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The prevalent rate of underdevelopment among the Third World countries seems unabated. The level of their national development is still below expectation years after political independence. Remarkably, national development remains a vital future of a nation, as such, its realization is dependent on efficient application of good governance and development administration. This will culminate into the improved economy and better standard of living among the citizens. Government, as an arm of the state, is constitutionally bound to formulate and implement policies that will promote stability in the state. The ability of the government to accommodate public opinion in decision-making, implement such policies with intermittent evaluations to ensure compliance is vital. It is equally ideal, to guarantee the principle of rule of law objectively as this will, in no doubt, promote peace in the society.

 

Africa is currently experiencing the paradox of her being. Poverty and squalor are but hallmarks of a great continent that has richly being blessed by nature. A continent that often has been spared of untold natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes (except for few landslides in pockets of places) and the likes. In various states of the continent, there are myriads of natural endowment, oil, coal, Gold, Iron- ore, precious stones and others too numerous to be mentioned. Yet in the midst of these endowments, persist also mismanagement, self-interest and unimaginable forms of corruption. In fact, some have commented that these resources have often become a curse rather than a blessing to the continent. This obvious gap between the God given opportunities and its meaningful utilization in a purposive manner, calls to the question the problematic nature of leadership and its centrality to the discourse on development.

In its over fifty years of independence Nigeria has drawn development plans, received foreign aids, loans have been acquired, national resources tapped, with a view to ensuring that it becomes a developed nation. But on the contrary, the country is faced with crises of underdevelopment manifesting through high level of poverty, low per capita income, corruption at all levels of society and unemployment. The Governance has been variously defined. To Adetiba and Rahim (2012) governance can be seen as the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. To them, governance has three dimensions – political, administrative and economic. governance is the process of decision making to formulate policies, it seeks to prevent and reduce intra and interstate conflict, implement constitutional democracy, which include free and fair election, the rule of law and human rights. Administrative governance is the system of policy implementation promoting accountability and efficiency of public office holders. Economic governance refers to the decision making process that affects a country’s economic activities and its relationship with other economies. To Bliss (2002) governance includes not only the government but also the private sector and the civil society. United Nations Development Programme (1997) defined governance as the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs, or the complex mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights and obligations and mediate their differences. It encompasses every institution in the society, from the family to the state and embraces all methods, bad or good, that society uses to distribute power and manage public resources and problems question is why? This paper attempts to link Nigeria’s underdevelopment to the problem of governance.

 

  • STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since independence, Nigeria has experienced a chequered political history characterised by persistent incidences of military misadventure into her political landscape, violence and corruption. This phenomenon has since disrupted the structure and functioning of the body polity, and further obstructed peaceful coexistence and effective service delivery of public goods. The experience with citizens’ participation in electoral politics in the country has not been encouraging given the politics of self-interest which exists in the country, coupled with electoral malpractices. Even where development of local participation is an important tool for rural development and where political education in mass participation is a key element of the development strategy, programmes have not increased genuine participation and responsibility among the people. There are political, socio-cultural and bureaucratic constraints to political participation in the country.

Nigeria is struggling to wriggle itself out of the intricate web of recurrent violence, infrastructural decay, moral deterioration, and election rigging associated with several decades of leadership failures. The trend of democracy in the country has been haracterised by clan-based politics, elite domination and centralized system of governance; widespread electoral malpractices, as well as persistent incidences of political violence. The competition and excessive quest for political power has made politics to be associated with violence in the country. Politicians in the country are becoming too desperate and arrogant in taking and retaining power, and intolerant of opposition and efforts at replacing them. They do not care about the loss of lives and properties during political violence.

As a developing country, it records slow progress in meeting the development demands of its teeming population. It is noteworthy that the urgent need to eradicate poverty, to ensure environmental sustainability, among others, have been considered as a priority among world leaders. However, the task of ensuring its success over time is dependent on governments’ genuine intentions over their people.

The government of Nigeria declares that it is committed to democracy and good governance. But, in practice, it has not advanced much progress in this direction. Where this situation is prominent at the national level, it is certain that similar conditions may be easily reproduced at the State and local level. Nigeria needs an urgent intervention for democratic emancipation. This emancipation has to be reflected in every segment of the society. Thus, the government should promote freedom of people to contribute positively towards the development of the nation, accountability, decentralization, increased local citizens’ participation and balance of power.

It is obvious that most sectors of the economy of the country are controlled by the Central Government. This increases public upheaval, thereby leading to widespread crises. It is very important to increase citizens’ empowerment in the country. And, for his to become effective, there is also the need to enhance local autonomy. If the local municipalities are to be given more autonomy, the local citizens would be induced to take part in decision-making processes which affect their lives more often, and there is a possibility that local officials will be more inclined to involve the local people in policy-making processes. This could enhance democracy in the society, and as such, improve the living conditions of people.

1.3      OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To appraise the state good governance and national unity in Nigeria

To determine the effect of state good governance and national unity in Nigeria social development

To determine the challenges of state good governance and national unity in Nigeria social development

  • RESEARCH QUESTIONS
  • OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
  • SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study shall  provide an analysis of the nature , causes and effect of insecurity  on national development in Nigeria with a view to determine measures to mitigate and eliminate the trend.

It shall also serve a veritable source of information on issues of   insecurity and national development in Nigeria

 

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

  • DEFINITION OF TERMS

 

THREAT

Fay (2007); states that threat is any circumstance of event with the potential to cause harm to a system in the form of destruction, disclosure, modification of data or denial of service. This suggest that threat may be in deed or word and it includes activities that constitute danger, risk, hazards and menace which are capable of intimidating an individual.

 

DEVELOPMENT

ROGER(1976) describe development as the type of social change in which new ideas are introduce within a  social system to produce higher capital incomes and levels of living through more production,  Method and improved social organization

1.3  Objectives of the Study

  • To examine the benefits of good governance on national unity and social development
  • To examine the contribution of good governance on national unity and social development
  • To examine the prospect of good governance on national unity and social development

1.4  Research Questions

  1. What is the benefits of good governance on national unity and social development ?
  2. What are the contribution of good governance on national unity and social development ?
  3. What is the prospect of good governance on national unity and social development ?

1.5  Research Hypothesis

  1. There is no significant effect prospect of good governance on national unity and social development
  2. There is no significant effect of contribution of good governance on national unity and social development
  3. There is no significant different of the benefits of good governance on national unity and social development

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will enlighten public officials on how the re-branding campaign can be effectively carried out.  With the reviving trend of terrorist globally; Nigeria need to be repositioned to meet this challenge, and hence encourage external acceptance for its foreign policy.

This research work will also help other researchers to further investigate on other aspects that this research might not be able to cover.

The research will be of benefit to the government to learn from public opinion of the respondents on what is needed to be done and what other plans the government can do to renew the Nigerian image.

Academically, the study will form an extension of knowledge to the academic study for future researchers.

  • Limitations of the study

       In every research work, it is likely that the researcher may encounter some limitations. The researcher encountered some challenges during the period of carrying out this research. Some of these challenges include the dearth of materials for a proper and effective research work constituted a major limitation. Again, how to get the true and required information from the students through questionnaire also constituted a constraint in the study.

GOOD GOVERNANCE- NATIONAL UNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA. A CASE STUDY OF JOS SOUTH LGA PLATEAU STATE

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